Voices of Search Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Embedding analysis will be a core part of enterprise SEO in the next two years?
Date: November 19, 2025
Host: Tyson Stockton
Guest: Ryland Bacorn, vocaday
Podcast: Voices of Search // A Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Content Marketing Podcast

Episode Overview

This episode explores the rapidly growing trend of SEOs building their own lightweight tools—especially in workflow automation and rapid prototyping. The discussion centers on how tool-building not only drives innovation in the SEO space but is also quickly becoming essential for maintaining competitiveness. Host Tyson Stockton and guest Ryland Bacorn highlight the importance of technical upskilling, experimentation, and automation in scaling enterprise SEO workflows, particularly in the emerging era of AI and low-code solutions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Rise of Lightweight Tool Building in SEO

• Industry Trend: Building custom SEO tools within integrated development environments (IDEs) is no longer niche—it's rapidly becoming mainstream.
• Competitive Edge: Teams and individuals developing these tools are leading industry conversations and gaining a significant competitive advantage.

[00:56] Ryland Bacorn:

"It's a total trend. This is the substance of every conversation I have at conferences today. If you're not building tools, sorry, people who are building tools are coming for your role. So it's an absolute trend."

• Hands-On Learning: Building and troubleshooting tools is a direct path to deeper technical SEO understanding. Error messages and documentation become valuable learning experiences.
• Teaching Moment:
  • “The real secret, the real learnings are: what does this error message mean? Educate me. Give me some documentation. Let me read the documentation.” — Ryland Bacorn [01:33]

The Realities of Automation in SEO

• Beyond AI: Automation is not new to SEO; tools like Zapier predated the current AI explosion, but the stakes and possibilities have grown with platforms like OpenAI entering the automation space.
• Current Toolsets:
  • N8N highlighted as a particularly powerful workflow automation tool.
  • OpenAI's entry signals broader access and ease of integration.

[03:16] Ryland Bacorn:

"So many workflows have been being automated with AI tools, even pre AI tools like Zapier. But N8N for instance, amazingly powerful tool and OpenAI just launched one themselves. So automating things, doing things at scale. This is where it starts. Absolute trend. Get on board today. Start coding. You can do it."

• Takeaway: Learning to code and automate is not just helpful—it's quickly becoming mandatory in the SEO space.

Practical Advice for SEOs

• Actionable PSA: If you aren't already building and experimenting with your own tools, start now.
• Encouragement: Technical upskilling is accessible—resources and documentation are abundant.

[03:40] Tyson Stockton:

"It's a PSA for building your own tools."
[03:43] Ryland Bacorn:
"That's right."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Industry Disruption:

  "People who are building tools are coming for your role. So it's an absolute trend." — Ryland Bacorn [00:58]

• On Embracing Failure:

  "I literally pull my hair when I see chatbots say like, perfect, we've built exactly what you're looking for and you go to test it and it's like, this doesn't even load in my local host. What are you talking about?... But the real secret, the real learnings are: what does this error message mean?" — Ryland Bacorn [01:14]

• On Getting Started:

  "Get on board today. Start coding. You can do it." — Ryland Bacorn [03:35]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Building Lightweight Tools Is a Major Trend — [00:56–01:48]
• Learning Through Errors and Documentation — [01:17–01:48]
• Automation: Past to Present — [03:16–03:40]
• Actionable PSA: Build Your Own Tools — [03:40–03:44]

Summary & Takeaway

This brisk episode captures a pivotal moment in enterprise SEO: tool-building and workflow automation are indispensable skills for modern practitioners. Ryland Bacorn urges SEOs to start coding, leverage documentation, and embrace automation as the future of scalable SEO strategy. The consensus is clear—those who invest in technical innovation today will shape the industry landscape tomorrow.

To connect with Ryland Bacorn or check out his projects, visit the show notes or bokeaday.com.